Paul Nicklen

As a young boy Paul Nicklen moved to Baffin Island with his family and spent his childhood among the Inuit people. From them he learned a love of nature, the understanding of icy ecosystems, and the survival skills that have helped him become one of the most successful wildlife and nature photographers of our generation.

A passionate advocate for polar and marine biodiversity, Nicklen has spent most of his adult life working in the Arctic and Antarctica. As a photojournalist working in some of Earth’s most remote and extreme environments, he faces incredible hardships and personal danger in pursuit of intimate and powerful images of iconic wildlife. His unique style of storytelling blends the ethereal beauty of the icy realm and the mysteries of some of the most elusive polar creatures—both above and underwater—with some of the harsh realities facing these unique and important ecosystems. Working as a photographer for National Geographic magazine, Nicklen has covered a variety of natural history and conservation issues, from the slaughter of narwhals to the environmental impact of salmon farming to the importance of sea ice and polar ecosystems. Despite the challenges, he travels constantly in search of meaningful stories that touch people’s emotions and help the public at large connect with some of our planet’s most threatened ecosystems.

Nicklen has published 16 stories for National Geographic. His book, Polar Obsession, is a pictorial celebration of the polar ecosystems where Nicklen has spent his life. His latest book is Bear: Spirit of the Wild. He has received more than 20 international awards, including 2010′s Nature: First Prize Story award from World Press Photo. More recently, he was named the 2012 Veolia Environment Wildlife Photographer of the Year.